Dragon's Fire
by Sarruby
Summary: This is a rewrite of part of Snakehead- oh, forget it. I've decided not to restrict the reading of the 25 visitors to this story. Have a cookie and enjoy the rest. It's the holidays, anyway.
1. Falling

AN: Um... I discovered this almost-complete fic whilst cleaning out files in my computer (I apparently wrote 11 short-chapters with one to go...). I wrote it in September, and it slipped my mind... Sorry!

This is a rewrite of part of Chapter 22 (titled "Dragon Nine") of Snakehead, when the SAS infiltrate the drilling platform. It picks up right after Alex jumps from the Chinook (helicopter).

I used the "Alex Rider: Mission Files" book as a resource.

Enjoy!

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_[Alex] felt a hand on his shoulder. Ben. He jumped._

The cool night air rushed by Alex's head as he plunged into the darkness below. He was mildly surprised by how quiet the aircraft above him was; when the parachute deployed automatically, Alex could barely hear the Chinook. The static line deployment system helped; Alex was heading for the "H" on the helicopter pad- the previously planned rendezvous site. Like Scooter said, the windless night made things easier.

Alex looked down. The two oil platforms were foreboding, and he studied the larger of the two. It was the one without the helipad, and a yacht was attached to a support. From his angle, he could see all four of the larger platform's supports. Alex noticed one of them had a peculiar room with windows and guessed it was the control room while wondering if the others had noticed.

With several soft "thunks", the SAS landed on the helipad. Frankly, Alex was surprised by his performance. He had landed on the very edge of the helicopter pad by sheer luck. Ben had landed a few yards behind him, and the 10 Australian operatives landed on the yellow circle around the "H". Ben had folded his parachute while landing, as had the others. The packed them up, and Ben moved to assist Alex with his.

A sudden, unexpected breeze caught Alex's parachute before Ben reached him. It was surprisingly forceful, and Alex was dragged off the platform towards the ocean.

Ben had stepped towards Alex as the wind swept the boy away. Unfortunately, Alex was too far away from the other operatives to be helped. In the dark, all Ben could really see was the parachute's vague outline, but it was enough to tell what was happening. Silently cursing, he hustled to the edge to look for Alex.

Ben froze as he saw two guards patrolling together on the small platform's edge to his left, and he quickly made the signal for the other SAS members. Darting to the corner and dropping to his stomach, he listened in the pair's conversation, hoping for information. By then, Alex's parachute was invisible against the black ocean, and Alex shouldn't call out for fear of alerting the guards, that is, if he was alive.

"It's been a long day," said the larger guard. It figured that Major Yu had hired British guards.

"I know, I know! But the contract ends today, so tomorrow we'll get our money. We report to the Recreation rooms tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yeah. But screw that! I'm going there now- there's been no action at all, and there won't be." With that, the larger man turned around and headed toward a door. The smaller one sighed and continued his patrol alone.

"One down, and more rooms to search," thought Ben silently. He crawled away from the edge and stood to congregate with the others.

"Alright, it's plan B," Scooter whispered to the gathered SAS. "We look for the system that's prepping the bomb and destroy it. Destroying the power unit will work just as well."

The SAS clambered off the helipad one by one to search the oil platforms.

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AN: Thanks for reading.

_**Please do not review**_. Why?

1. I have not been reviewing others' fics, though I have read them.

2. I won't reply.

3. The "Story Traffic" page will tell me how many people visited this, and I can reasonably infer that extra hits to this page are people who are returning to reread because they liked it.


	2. Dropoff

AN: MUHAHAHA! I will dominate the AR update page (until this fic runs out of chapters)!!

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Summary: This fanfiction replaced the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. The SAS landed on the helipad, but Alex was blown off by a gust of wind. The SAS proceeded to hunt down and find the system that was lowering the Royal Blue bomb into the seabed.

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The gust of wind had swept Alex off his feet, and when it did, he knew that he was in its clutches and at its mercy. So, Alex had unstrapped the entire parachute quickly as he could and rolled off the helipad.

Sheer luck allowed Alex to twist around and grab the metal bar at the end of the platform. He swung down onto a metal platform beneath and froze when he saw the pair of guards. Alex heard their conversation like Ben had, and Alex prepared himself. He didn't have a gun or a knife, but that didn't mean karate was off limits. Besides, he couldn't reach the helipad or call for help, and he still wanted to achieve the objective.

If Ben hadn't stopped watching the second guard, he would have seen a silhouette hoist themselves up onto the platform's edge stealthily. He would have also seen the roundhouse kick that knocked out the guard after the person sneaked up behind him, and how the person who attacked him didn't want the body to be found.

Alex couldn't risk another guard patrolling to find the knocked out one. Quickly searching the body, he withdrew the walkie-talkie and pocketed it; it could provide useful information. He also snatched up the man's pistol.

Alex heaved the body into a crevice and hoped the darkness would make the man invisible. Shoving him further into the notch between the two structures, Alex stepped back to see if the man was visible any longer; the man wasn't.

Finished with the task of hiding the body, he darted over to the metal beams that connected the two oil platforms. This would be necessary to cross for Alex needed to get to the control room. Alex was fairly certain that the control room was on the drilling platform's odd pillar.

To his dismay, crossing the walkway would be suicidal, for the entire run was in sight from both ends. Alex saw some rope lying on the end of the deck- for what purpose, he didn't know- and decided to borrow it.

Alex sprinted by the handrail while attentively listening for guards or the SAS men. If he found the SAS, he'd rejoin them; it was terrifying to be on his own behind enemy lines. Before turning the corner, he stopped to check for guards.

"Just my luck," Alex thought as he heard soft conversation and footfalls around the corner. There were no niches to hide in, for the Recreation rooms now beside Alex had a flat wall. Thankfully, the rope was in reach. Alex grabbed it.

Alex couldn't possibly take on two or more guards, so he formed a plan. Looking up at the stars for hopefully not the last time, he noticed some more shadows on the Recreation rooms' roof. It was the SAS! Sadly, they hadn't noticed him.

"Of all the rotten timings!" Alex muttered quietly. The guards' voices were nearing, so Alex could definitely not call out.

The guards turned the corner.

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AN: Please do not review.


	3. Blood

Summary: This fanfiction replaced the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. The SAS landed on the helipad, but Alex was blown off by a gust of wind. The SAS proceeded to hunt down and find the system that was lowering the Royal Blue bomb into the seabed.

Alex wants to cross the bridge between the two platforms to get to the control room. He gets some rope at the end of the walkway and sees the SAS on the roof above, but guards are rounding the corner.

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The guards didn't see anything and felt no need to hurry. They were discussing constellations, so they paused at the corner and looked out over the ocean.

Texas and Sparks, two of the Australian SAS, quietly rappelled down the Recreation rooms' wall to land behind the two unfortunate guards. The SAS men pulled out their knives and approached the conversing pair from behind, making sure their steps were inaudible.

"See those three? It's Orion's Belt, and it points to the North Star!" the thinner of the two guards argued. Texas stealthily stepped behind this man.

"Fool, I've already told you- it's the front of the Big Dipper that does!" Sparks craftily crept up behind this one. Neither guard noticed the SAS men's prescence.

"For Pete's sake, the Big Dipper-" The man never finished his sentence, for at that moment, Texas signaled to Sparks, and the SAS men slit the guards' throats simultaneously from behind, slashing carefully to avoid too many blood splatters on the deck. The guards' blood spilled overboard, and no sound was uttered after that. The guards had no uncut vocal cords left, and they were dead.

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Alex planned to use the rope originally as a method of getting on top of the metal walkway, but now it was serving a different purpose. Alex gripped one end in his right hand, and another section in his left, while the rest of it was loosely coiled around his shoulder. The section between the hands was threaded through the handrail's supports; Alex was suspended off the edge of the deck by the rope.

His heart nearly stopped as the guards decided to stop by the corner of the deck; it was the very place Alex was hanging from. Their conversation was clearly heard, and Alex's breath caught in his throat.

"Ha, the first man is wrong. The Big Dipper points to the North Star," he shakily thought, trying pathetically to calm his nerves. This was the only place he could hide, and if either guard thought to look down and see the rope, it was Alex's end. Alex was barely breathing, and every sound he heard felt amplified.

Those sounds included- to his mild surprise- more, softer footsteps after the two voices stopped moving. Alex realized it was easier to hear footsteps from below deck, and he wasn't sure what was going on. Suddenly, the voices cut off.

A torrent of liquid splashed down from above, and Alex had a vague guess as to what it was. Some of it landed on him. Cautiously, he tasted the liquid.

It was blood.

Alex didn't hear an alarm, so he knew that it was the SAS that had done it. He grew certain as he saw two silhouettes fall into the water below, outlined by the reflection of the stars on the water.

It was then that Alex realized he didn't think his hiding place through thoroughly enough. With both hands occupied by the thick ropes, he was essentially stuck. It was lucky the SAS men were there. More quiet "thunks" could be heard. Were the other SAS men joining the two? Alex sucked in a breath to speak when he heard the footsteps of all the men walking away.

"Hello?" Alex cautiously whispered.

The footsteps all stopped.

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AN: Please do not review.


	4. Reunite

Summary: This fanfiction replaced the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. The SAS landed on the helipad, but Alex was blown off by a gust of wind. The SAS proceeded to hunt down and find the system that was lowering the Royal Blue bomb into the seabed.

Alex wants to cross the bridge between the two platforms to get to the control room. He gets some rope at the end of the walkway and sees the SAS on the roof above, but guards are rounding the corner.

Texas and Sparks, SAS men, kill the two guards. Alex hung off the edge of the platform and called out to them.

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Alex heard one of the SAS curse under his breath. "Sorry!" Alex whispered, thinking that his call was too loud and had angered them. He put the ropes in one hand and reached up but was unable to touch the edge. Ben finally realized what was going on, and where Alex was- the SAS assumed it was a guard. Alex squinted into Ben's cupped light.

"Jeez, Alex! Don't scare us like that- we thought you were a guard." Upon closer look, Ben noticed how red Alex was. "You okay?"

"This is the two guards' blood. Please don't leave me hanging, Ben." Ben overcame his mild shock and took Alex's wrists to pull him up. Scooter and X-Ray also lent a hand, and soon they were all standing on the platform; Alex held the rope, but Ben had confiscated the pistol with a frown- guns weren't for kids.

Alex whispered to Scooter, "On the way down, did you see that odd column on the drilling platform? You can see it over there." Alex pointed. "I'd bet anything it's the control room." None of the SAS men had seen- they were concentrating on landing correctly, but inexperienced Alex had the time to enjoy the view.

"Even your life?" muttered one of the other men Alex didn't know. After a short moment of hesitation, Alex nodded. Scooter looked thoughtful.

"Alright, let's check it out. It's a start, for sure." Alex walked in the center of the group as they moved to the bridge that connected the two platforms. Scooter saw the same problem Alex did; they'd be spotted- and trapped- too easily. Alex pointed to the rope and to the roof. If they threw up an end, they could scale the wall to walk on top of the walkway. It would be bad if they were spotted, but it would be harder to notice than walking through.

Sparks took the rope from Alex and threw it up the wall. It wrapped around something, and both ends hung down. One by one, the SAS scaled the sheer wall- Alex went after the first five did. Keeping low to stay quiet, they sprinted down the walkway.

They were maybe 10 feet from the end when an alarm went off. A watchtower guard must have seen them.

Scooter hissed, "Down!" Something small- about the size of an orange- clattered onto the walkway and landed between Alex's feet.

Alex recognized the small, black object. It was a grenade. Spark had figured it out while it was still in the air, and now the SAS and Ben were lying down and moving away in hopes of living. Without really thinking it through, Alex used his football skills to throw the grenade up behind him with a "rainbow" maneuver, and he whipped around using a cross between flying karate and football kick to smash the grenade towards the small platform. Whoever had thrown the grenade had forgotten to cook it properly- otherwise, Alex would have been killed by an explosion right next to him. Instead, the bomb flew fairly far before exploding behind the entire group. Alex, being the only standing one after landing his kick, was thrown off the walkway onto the drilling platform. The others remained on top of the walkway.

He was separated from the group again.


	5. Separate

Summary: This fanfiction replaced the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. The SAS landed on the helipad, but Alex was blown off by a gust of wind. The SAS proceeded to hunt down and find the system that was lowering the Royal Blue bomb into the seabed.

They met up with Alex, but were separated by a grenade after crossing the bridging walkway to the drilling platform where Alex thinks the control room is.

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Alex had been standing off-balance when the grenade exploded, so he landed on his side. Shrapnel, sharp and small, had bruised Alex in several places, but, luckily, the outfit he was wearing was similar to the ski suit from Point Blanc Academy- light and difficult to pierce. It was lucky Smithers had had some of it ready for Alex. He was otherwise uninjured.

He heard alarmed voices nearby- meaning an enemy on the platform's edge- so he stood and sprinted in the other direction in a zig-zag pattern. A bullet whizzed by his ear before he turned the corner, taking a few strands of hair with it.

Fortunately, the control room was also in that direction. Alex found a ladder and scaled it quickly- the control was higher up, if he remembered correctly, on the third or fourth floor. There was another ladder near the top of the one Alex just climbed, so Alex scrambled to the third floor. The control room was on the fourth, and there were guards that were walking along the corridor.

Alex looked around. To his right was a large crane. Alex, ready with a plan, took off towards the crane and hopped into the cockpit and found himself to be a lucky boy- the machine was still on. Carefully, he played with the joysticks until he understood how to operate the crane. The arm swung over the control room, and the hook descended until it was right outside of the door. Amazingly, the guards didn't notice, occupied by the SAS men and Ben's gunfire.

Alex stepped outside and looked up at the guards on the fourth floor. The two men were walking- and facing- away from the control room. Despite the alarm, they apparently were to continue patrolling. Alex grinned.

Quickly, he pulled himself onto the roof of the crane and began to climb up the metal arm. It had 3 large beams that ran the whole length, supported by smaller supports that zig-zagged. The crane creaked softly in the night air.

The beams were easy to grab. He could slide down the crane's rope at the other end. But, Alex forgot one thing.

He was carrying the guard's walkie talkie.

As Alex reached the rope and was thus over the control room's entrance, a voice blared through the walkie talkie. "Gregory, get your lazy butt over here, ASAP!"

Alex froze to see if anyone had heard. Someone did. He could see a vague shadow below look up and raise an arm. Metal clinked next to him, accompanied by a gunshot.

Quickly, Alex pretended to pull the antenna out of the walkie talkie with exaggerated movements, and then he threw it as hard as he could at the guard who tried to shoot him. It had the intended effect- the guard ran for cover, thinking the walkie talkie was a grenade.

Alex slid down the rope and dropped quietly onto the doorstep of what he thought was the control room.

What time was it? Alex didn't have a watch; what if he was too late, or just in time? Somewhere in his head, he noted that the gunshots had quieted. Who won?

Alex had to go in alone.


	6. Ashen

Summary: This fanfiction replaced the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. After landing, Alex was separated from the SAS and Ben by a grenade. On his own, he went to search for the control room. The story left off with Alex standing in front of the control room.

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Ben got up immediately after the grenade went off. He had seen Alex fly off the roof of the passageway and onto the deck. Having been the closest to Alex- and thus second closest to the grenade- Ben was grateful for Alex's quick thinking; he would have been in serious trouble if the grenade had exploded beside him.

The other SAS men were shooting now. Ben glanced at his watch- 11:42. Well, there was some time.

Eventually, the guards seemed to weaken in forces, as did the SAS. Ben recalled which of the men he knew- Texas was nicked on the calf, and Sparks didn't look too good. Sparks had a small hole in the right side of his chest and was obviously unconscious. Ben himself had been lucky- he had no injuries. About 3 other Australian SAS men had been hit, and 2 of them didn't seem to be coming around- ever.

Most of the guards were out, though, and the rest seemed to be regrouping. That was good- only 5 of the original 11 SAS task force adults were coming, and fewer guards meant there was less chance of the remaining men being shot. The SAS helped their own medic and guard move the injured to a safer location inside an empty room. In there, X-Ray took over.

"So, what should we do? I'm open to input."

Texas answered, "I think we should split up. The guards have been mostly taken care of on this side, provided backup doesn't arrive from the small platform. One group should look for Alex, Yu, and the control room, and the other should look for the deployment system. The other medic that's coming should go with the group looking for Alex."

Ben spoke up. "I think we should stick together. We're are short on numbers, and the bomb's deployment system is a chance- not a definite." Several heads nodded in agreement.

Ben took one last look at Sparks. The first medic was bent over him, studiously treating the chest wound as best he could, and the second one was assisting as best he could, although he'd soon be leaving.

Ben hoped Alex didn't look like Sparks.

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Alex was betting that there were people inside of the control room. He also hoped the door wasn't squeaky, so Alex slowly opened the door and slid into the room.

Inside the room was Major Yu, expectedly, in front of the control panel Alex had registered his hand into. The other person was a guard. Alex was stunned- the hair looked like...

"Ash?" The man whipped around, and sure enough, it was Ash. Ash pointed the pistol in his hand at Alex, trigger finger at the ready, but uncertainty written across his face. Yu turned more slowly.

Yu started to speak. "What in the name of-?" He couldn't even form a coherent sentence in his shock. No one spoke for a good while. Alex was scared.

Ash decided to break the silence. "I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't want you to find out. Especially not like this."


	7. Knockout

Summary: This fanfiction replaced the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. Alex has entered the control room alone, and Ben is looking for him.

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Major Yu smiled, but his eyes showed the continued shock. "I was wondering, after we couldn't find your body in the waters. How did you survive?"

"The devil must love me. But give up, Yu. The reef island conference has been canceled, and the ASIS knows it was you."

Yu considered that for a moment. "There's a world of profits for the Snakehead following any war- or catastrophe, I should say. I think I'll make my mark on the world, Alex." Alex was revolted by the man's absolute disregard for life. Yu pulled out his pistol.

"Well, Ash, because you're one of my most trusted employees, would you like to explain yourself first?" Ash nodded, his expression unreadable.

"I'm sorry, Alex." Smiling sadly for a moment, he asked, "Surprised?"

Alex stalled as best he could. "No, not really. I guessed. The entire mission was a snafu from the start. It was like the Snakehead knew our every move- and about me, too. I got put in that Bangkok fight- and Mr. Sukit spoke in English and French to me. If he thought I was a real Afghan boy, he'd never speak in those languages. It was strange, but then it went from bad to worse. Ash's emergency telephone number took me straight to you- and you took 2 of my gadgets away. Those were the two I told Ash about- my belt and my watch. If I'd mentioned the explosive coins, they would've vanished too, I suppose." Alex paused. "Why did you work for Scorpia, Ash?"

Ash gazed emotionlessly at Alex. "After Mdina, Blunt humiliated me. I had given my health- no, my life to MI6, and he didn't care. He told me what I already knew. I would never be as good as your dad."

Major Yu grinned suddenly and lowered his pistol. "Why don't you tell Alex the rest of it, Ash?"

Ash's emotionless face twitched revealing... grief and shame? It was hard to tell. "Alex, I..." Ash trailed off, his eyes imploring Alex to stop him.

"I think I know." Alex bowed his head and closed his eyes. "You killed my parents, didn't you." It wasn't a question. "You planted that bomb on the plane, so you could join Scorpia. And now, you'll kill me."

Ash spoke softly, undercurrents of regret, sadness, shame, and grief riding his voice. "That's right, Alex."

Yu put in his two cents. "Kill him, Ash."

Alex was out for the count.

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Ben was sneaking around with the other 4 men, listening carefully. They were approaching the supposed control room. Scooter went ahead with X-Ray following, indicating they would be in the front lines. But they didn't go in right away.

Scooter pressed his ear to the door, then motioned to the others. They gathered, and Scooter whispered, "I think I hear voices in there- but I can't distinguish who's speaking or what they're saying."

X-Ray chewed his lip. "If it's Alex, then we might get a hostage situation, but that's no good... if we wait too long, then Alex might-"

A gunshot rang out from the room.


	8. Pistolwhip

Summary: This fanfiction replaced the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. Alex was talking with Ash, Ben was outside the room with 4 SAS men, and a gunshot was just heard.

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Ben cursed. The other SAS men seemed to share the same opinion as him- if that was Alex, then he obviously needed help.

They barged into the room, guns drawn and at the ready. Alex was lying on the floor facing away from them, a small pool of blood under his head, and several splatters beside him. Another man the SAS didn't recognize was slumped in his seat, clutching his stomach, a gun resting on the floor by his feet. Finally, Major Yu was in silent pain, written on his face. Apparently, his brittle hands couldn't withstand the kickback of the gun, as Alex had mentioned. But the man switched hands and was about to shoot someone.

Ben stopped him; he fired at Major Yu's hand, effectively stopping him. Yu wasn't done yet, though. Using his broken- but not shot- hand, he brought the pistol up to his head and fired a single shot. As much as Yu loved the British, he would not be taken in by one. Ben didn't have time to react to the man's bold decision. Both of the corpse's hands were mutilated, Scooter noted- it was a good thing Alex was there, even if he wasn't in perfect health.

"See to Alex, now," Ben commanded the medic as he rushed over to the other man, kicking the gun away. "Who the heck are you?"

"Ash- a guard."

"What happened here? How do we deactivate the bomb?"

The man smiled sadly, his eyes clouded. "You can't deactivate it. It's too late. Yu already put it in autopilot."

Ben closed his eyes for a half second, calming himself as best he could in this situation. "Why is Alex dead?" The medic looked up, mouth open and ready, but paused, realizing that Ben was busy interrogating Ash.

"He's not dead- only unconscious. Yu told me to kill him, but I chose to pistol-whip him. Yu shot me for betraying his orders, I suppose." Ash gasped in pain and looked ready to faint.

"Why didn't you kill him?"

"I don't shoot kids," Ash weakly supplied, though it was only half the truth. Ash couldn't bring himself to murder John Rider's son- no, Ash couldn't bring himself to murder his godchild in cold blood.

Ben was angry in general and thought only partially rationally. "Any other questions, guys?" he asked the 2 SAS men attending to Alex and the two watching the door for any other visitors. They shook their heads. "Here's a taste of your own medicine," Ben muttered. He pistol-whipped Ash as hard as he could without killing him. Maybe Ash could supply some answers later. He would definitely be brought to justice.

Ben walked over to the control panel to see what it said. It had an outline of a hand displayed, intended for a person's right hand. It figured that Ben had shot Major Yu's right hand. Ben checked the time. 11:53- only 7 minutes until the bomb was at depth.

Finished there, Ben went over to Alex and knelt beside him. The medic was just finishing bandaging Alex's head. X-ray was there as well, and he looked at Ben.

"Now what?"


	9. Shot

Summary: This fanfiction replaced the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. The bomb is almost at depth, and Alex is out cold. Ben and 4 SAS are in the control room, wondering what to do.

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Ben turned to the medic. "How serious is it?

"He's bleeding pretty badly; but the pupils are reacting, and breathing and pulse are strong and only slightly unsteady. Definitely concussed, seeing as he's out, but not seriously. He'll probably wake up pretty soon. I'd say Ash pulled the hit a little- if Ash pistol-whipped him like you did Ash, then he'd be a lot worse."

Ben frowned, noting the medic's reluctance to say "Alex". "Can we move Alex?"

"Yeah, I think it'd be alright for a little while- just try not to jostle him too much, okay?"

Ben nodded and turned to the leader. "Help me out- move his hand, alright?" Scooter raised a skeptical eyebrow, but nodded. It was clear that Ben thought Alex's fingerprints should still be used.

Ben gently slid his arms under Alex's knees and shoulders and lifted him up. When they were getting close to the panel, a bullet broke through the window; it seemed there was still a substantial number of guards left on the platform. The few guarding SAS moved to the window to take out the opposition, but they weren't fast enough.

Three more bullets were fired. Two struck Ben's right arm, and he dropped Alex's upper body in response. Another hit a screen on the wall.

Ben cursed as he grew dizzy and fell.

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The world was spinning quickly, and a great fog was surrounding his mind. Alex opened his eyes, only to find himself upside down and falling on top of Ben. At least, his feet were. His head had connected with the ground, waking him. Ben's arm was... bleeding. Badly. What was going on?

Thud! Ben and Alex were both on the ground, and Alex could hear gunshots firing nearby and far away. A bullet slammed into the floor by Alex.

The SAS leader grabbed Alex and pulled him against the wall, out of the range of the bullets. The man then pulled Ben over. Ben was half conscious.

"Alex?" Ben inquired.

"Yeah?"

"Good."

"What?" But Ben had already passed out. Thankfully, the medic was already beside him. Alex sat up, staying close to the wall.

"What's going on?" Alex asked Scooter.

"Look, as soon as we finish up here, I need you to go over there and deactivate the bomb, got it?" Alex blinked blearily for a moment, then nodded.

The gunfighting stopped after a few moments.

"Go!"


	10. Bang

Summary: This fanfiction replaced the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. The bomb is almost at depth, Ben has been shot, and Alex is supposed to deactivate the bomb now.

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Alex darted over to the control panel. His right hand slammed down onto the glowing screen.

--AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED

Alex paused, debating whether to tap the screen in hopes of bringing up a menu- but the computer continued in a moment.

--Override master commands? Y/N

Alex tapped the 'Y'. A list of options came up.

--Display graph (select graph options)  
--Display location diagram  
--Display time  
--Disarm  
--Halt descent  
--Deactivate autopilot  
--Detonate  
--Shut down computer (autopilot will remain engaged)  
--Log out

Alex pressed 'Disarm'. A message popped up.

--ERROR

The infernal contraption then displayed the menu again. Quickly, Alex tried 'Halt descent' and 'Deactivate autopilot' to no avail. Why did errors keep popping up? Alex looked up at the wall panel in hopes of finding out the time- was he out of it?

The main panel was off- one of the bullets had smashed into it. The guards had done more damage than they thought.

"What's wrong?" X-ray asked.

"I think some of the computer has been damaged, so I can't disarm, halt, or deactivate it." The medic cursed, then looked at Ben's wristwatch.

"It's 11:56." Scooter cursed under his breath, unsure of what to do.

Alex prayed for dear life and pushed the 'Detonate' option.

"What the heck are you doing!" Scooter cried, having been watching Alex. Alex didn't get a chance to reply as a huge shock wave threw everyone in the room around. The Royal Blue had exploded 200 feet above the seabed, or 3,800 feet below them. Alex prayed that the sun and moon were on schedule- otherwise, he would have caused a tsunami.

Unfortunately, Alex was still a bit dizzy, so the shock wave knocked him over onto a soft cushion that had some splinters or something within it; Alex could feel them.

Alex looked down at the 'cushion'.

It was Major Yu's corpse.


	11. Return

Summary: This fanfiction replaced the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. Ben has been shot, and the bomb was detonated. Alex landed on Major Yu's corpse.

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Alex yelped and rolled off of the still-warm flesh. Shaking slightly, he moved to beside Ben's unconscious figure. Leaning against the wall beside him, Alex tried to calm down. The medic looked at him for a moment, then shook his head and went back to applying pressure to Ben's wounds. The explosion jostled everyone, but luckily no serious harm was done.

It looked like there was nothing to do until backup- and the ride back- arrived.

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On the plane ride back, Alex sat beside Scooter so that Scooter could make sure he didn't fall asleep; if Alex did, he could slip into a coma.

Scooter seemed to think the best way to keep someone awake was to hold a conversation.

"So, Alex, pray tell, who are you?"

"I'm Alex Rider. I come from Britain. I'm fully conscious, Scooter; look at my open and moving eyes!"

"I know that they're open, but how can I tell if you're awake unless I ask?" Alex glared at him in response. Scooter sighed before continuing. "Well, it's easier in this lighting to listen to your voice." A short silence reigned- Alex had to admit that was true.

"Will Ben be alright?"

"I don't know." Scooter looked over at Ben. He had an oxygen mask strapped to his face and an IV coming out of his arm. It didn't look good, and neither did the other 4 injured men; the 2 bodies were covered. "With a bit of leave, I think he'll be okay. Our training officers always told us stories about how they got shot and still went into battle, although some said that's why they now train others; they can't fight anymore. But Ben's younger and really good at what he does- he'll be fine."

Alex nodded for a moment, and winced imperceptibly at the dizziness that resulted. "What about," Alex hesitated, "the other guy in the control room? What's going to happen to him?"

"Why does it matter to us? He's not a threat anymore, that's what's important. Ben pistol-whipped him pretty hard, though." Ash wasn't on this helicopter. Another 'clean-up crew' had arrived with the SAS chopper, and they would handle 'leftovers'.

"Wait, what did Ben do?"

"You saw- oh wait, you were out." Scooted seemed mildly surprised for no reason. "Uh, Ben got pretty mad at that guy after he found out what happened. Him pistol-whipping you, I mean. So Ben pistol-whipped the other guy. I don't think he killed him."

"Huh." Alex looked over at Ben's figure on the other end of the helicopter. "Still, what's going to happen to that guy?"

Scooter cocked an eyebrow at Alex. "You're awfully curious about the guy who just KOed you." Scooter paused for a moment. "I suppose I would be too. Well, the ASIS will probably interrogate him thoroughly, find out what he knows about all of this, etc. Then he'll probably be locked up for a long while, probably after a trial." Scooter smiled at Alex. "I don't think you'll be called to the witness stand, though." Alex half returned the smile, wishing his family wasn't as involved in the spy world as they were.

"Thanks, Scooter."

"Well, don't thank me yet- we still have another half hour before we reach base."

Alex groaned. Another half hour of interrogation from Scooter.


	12. Interrogation

Summary: This fic replaces part of the chapter in Snakehead when the SAS infiltrate Dragon Nine. Everyone's on their way back to base, and Alex, for fear of a concussion, is being monitored by Scooter.

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Scooter sighed when Alex groaned. "You know, I'm not enjoying this either."

"Oh, really? Isn't it fun to question mysterious me?"

"Not really. I can't ask anything that might damage British security- like how you got this job, why no one's taken you off it, nor what you've done. I'm almost certain it's classified."

Alex didn't know if any of it really was- he never actually read the Official Secrets Act. "It's classified."

There was an expected lull in the conversation.

"So..." Scooter trailed off.

Alex smirked. _"Do you speak Spanish or German?"_ he asked in French.

Scooter blinked a few times. "I'm sorry?"

Alex's smirk was a bit more pronounced. _"Perhaps you speak French or German?"_ Alex said in Spanish.

Scooter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Alex, I only speak a little German. Could we please stick to languages I know?"

_"Well, you just answered my question. German's quite fun, isn't it? I like it quite a lot."_

Scooter glared at Alex for a moment, then sighed. _"Yeah, I guess. English is much lot easier for me, though."_

_"You mean to say, 'English is much easier for me.'"_

Scooter glared at Alex for a minute and was about to speak when the medic interrupted. "Does anyone have blood type A negative? I'm losing Sparks!"

Alex glanced around to see if anyone else volunteered. The room was silent, so he stood up. "I'm O negative."

The medic beckoned him over and rolled up his sleeve hurriedly. "Thanks, kiddo." He drew the blood after disinfecting a small patch of skin; Alex winced and looked away from his own blood, preferring to squeeze his eyelids shut.

The medic apologetically looked at him after he transferred the blood. "Sorry, but you probably just saved a life."

Scooter interrupted. "HQ just called; there's no tsunami. Everyone's safe."

Alex smiled minutely, if tiredly. "Now can I rest?" Scooter started to reply negatively, but the medic interrupted.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Scooter. If he can give you sass in other languages, donate blood, _and_ still be perfectly fine after about a half hour after getting knocked around, we can be almost certain he's not going into a coma."

Alex grinned, then sat down by the wall and got some well-deserved rest.

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THE END

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AN: Don't bother reviewing- I don't like this fic very much anyway.


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